"We look up. For weeks, for months, that is all we have done. Look up. And
there it is—the top of Everest. Only it is different now: so near, so
close, only a little more than a thousand feet above us. It is no longer just
a dream, a high dream in the sky, but a real and solid thing, a thing of rock
and snow, that men can climb. We make ready. We will climb it. This time,
with God's help, we will climb on to the end."
—Tenzing Norgay, Tiger of the Snows

With their pre-war history of Everest climbing attempts, the British had come
to regard the highest mountain in the world with a certain sense of propriety.
That Swiss mountaineers had so nearly achieved success in scaling it in 1952
had come as a tremendous shock. The Nepalese government had granted permission
for a British assault in 1953, but other nationalities were in line after that
and it was by no means certain when a team from Britain might have another
opportunity to pit itself against the mountain. If they were to retain their
special link with Everest, it was clear in British climbing circles that the
mountain had to be climbed in 1953. Moreover, with a new young Queen about to
be crowned, it was an auspicious year for demonstrations of British
achievement.
The pressure to succeed was high, and its first manifestation
came in the replacement of Eric Shipton as expedition leader elect by the
military mountaineer with a flair for organisation, Colonel John Hunt.

To many, this was a shocking, even treacherous move. Eric Shipton was the
leading British explorer and a popular and romantic public figure; to oust him
now smacked of backdoor diplomacy, and many climbers earmarked for the team
wavered over whether to transfer their alliegances to Hunt. For his part,
Hunt, the fairest of men, was unhappy with the awkward position he found
himself in, and immediately sought to win over the waverers, and indeed
Shipton. But Shipton, bitterly disappointed by the turn of events, withdrew
from the venture altogether. Apart from the way the matter was handled, the
outcome was for the best, for it is doubtful if Shipton could have brought the
same utter dedication to the task as did Hunt. Gaining a summit - even the
loftiest summit in the world - was never as important to him as seeing what lay
around the next corner. He was an explorer, rather than a climber, and wary of
over-organization.

Hunt put together a very strong team of climbers, picking widely on experience
and from keen student mountaineers. No longer was this to be a clique of
Alpine Club friends, but the best the country—or rather, the Commonwealth—could offer. New Zealanders Ed Hillary and George Lowe were included in the
team, as was Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who was resident in India, as a full
climbing member. Others included: Charles Evans (as Deputy Leader), George
Band (at 22, the youngest in the team), Tom Bourdillon, Alf Gregory, Wilfrid
Noyce, Dr Mike Ward, Michael Westmacott, and Charles Wylie. Dr Griffith Pugh
was the expedition's physiologist, and his preparatory work on Cho Oyu the year
before had been instrumental in the planning of all aspects of equipment,
clothing, and nutrition, as well as recommended rates and usage of artificial
oxygen. His contribution to the team's eventual success should not be
under-estimated. Tom Stobart was the official filmmaker to the enterprise and
James Morris, a correspondent for The Times of London, was instrumental in
sending out the coded message that ensured news of success broke in England on
the Coronation Day of Queen Elizabeth II.

With impeccable planning, a series of camps were set up and the expedition
route pushed forward up the mountain. A new passage was forged through the
awesome and ever-shifting Khumbu Icefall, and the South Face of Lhotse
traversed to reach the South Col. On the 26 of May, Charles Evans and Tom
Bourdillon, using the closed-circuit oxygen apparatus designed by Bourdillon
with his father, launched the first summit attempt. They pushed beyond the
Swiss high point of the previous year to surmount the South Summit, at 28,750
feet, less than 300 ft from the summit proper. Unfortunately, one of their
oxygen sets was not functioning properly and, bitterly disappointed, they were
forced to abort their attempt.

Next, it was the turn of Ed Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, generally regarded as
the strongest and fittest members of the expedition at that time. An
additional high camp was set up above the South Col at 27,900 ft, where the
pair spent a fitful night, waiting for dawn. Before first light on the 28th of
May the long process of getting warmed up and ready began. It was important to
drink what they could to prevent dehydration and their little cooker was
started up to melt ice for water. Hillary's boots were frozen and he sought to
thaw them out over the little flame. Way down in the darkness the lights of
Tengboche Monastery could be seen, where they knew the monks would already be
making offererings for their safety. By 6:30 a.m. they were dressed warmly in
their down suits and crawled out into the new day, hoisted their oxygen sets
onto their shoulders and started kicking steps towards the main ridge and the
wash of sunlight.